Pubdate: Fri, 06 Nov 2015
Source: Journal, The (CN ON Edu)
Copyright: 2015 The Queen's Journal
Contact:  http://www.queensjournal.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3942
Author: Kyle Curlew

LEGALIZING MARY JANE

Legalizing marijuana has many implications that some might have
overlooked.

Now that we have a prime minister who's ready for change, Canadian
politics can move away from touting the idea that marijuana is
"infinitely worse" than tobacco and focus on legalization.

However, the time for bright and smoky election advertisements is
over. The real work is about to begin.

A minefield of legal changes lies before our elected representatives
in parliament, which is largely new terrain for Canada.

How do we overhaul the current system to regulate commercial sales?
How do we set up regulations around the consumption of such a popular
buzz drug?

Legalization of weed in all of its forms, such as plants, smokes and
foods, will result in social and legal changes.

However, there's a lot to be learned from case studies in the United
States.

According to Colorado lawmakers, the shift to legal marijuana is
actually much more difficult than it seems. Much of this is backed up
by careful academic research.

There are, of course, many social, political and legal policy hiccups
the state will have to maneuver around. To name a few: the dangers of
children eating edible products, impaired driving and hidden costs of
regulations.

Danger to children

The flashy, psychedelic and colorful packaging of treats and goodies,
like magic brownies, make them appealing to young children. In states
where medical marijuana is legal, there are increases in calls to
poison control centres after children under nine unintentionally
consume THC foods, according to a report in the New England Journal of
Medicine.

Impaired driving

Another problem puzzling policy makers is how to tackle the influx of
impaired driving, as the same report linked increases in availability
of edible substances to increased problems in impaired driving.

Marijuana requires a different system of regulations and enforcement
than alcohol. Unfortunately, we won't know what these differences are
until we actually experience the issues involved.

The hidden cost

There's been media buzz around how legalization could boost Canada's
economy. But contrary to popular belief, there are many hidden costs
to regulation, as was revealed by research by Dr. Sam Kamin, a member
of Colorado's Marijuana Task Force and a professor of law from the
University of Denver.

To prevent legal ganja from slipping into the black market, a
complicated surveillance system had to be implemented in Colorado and
an entire bureaucracy of administrators were hired to oversee it. This
means less of those fabled tax dollars will actually make it back to
the community.

But striking prohibition is still worth it

On the bright side, there's been a clear drop in marijuana related
arrests and addiction centre visits in Colorado, according to an
article published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

This may be because we're shifting towards treating drug abuse as a
medical issue as opposed to a criminal one, which will also help keep
youth out of the crime system.

Justin Trudeau has already stated that weed won't be sold at
convenience stores. Most likely, the Liberal Party will follow the
Colorado framework: only licensed stores can sell marijuana and you
can grow your own. Smoking in public will likely still be prohibited.

One important thing to keep in mind, whether you're a regular toker or
non-toker, is that these unintended consequences don't necessarily
mean we shouldn't legalize weed - but it does mean that we need to
tread carefully and consider wide legal and policy changes.

We need to understand the consequences and tackle legalization in a
way that won't negatively impact public health. You can be sure that
parliamentary committees and policy makers will be crossing their eyes
over this one.
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MAP posted-by: Matt